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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cap — a lid
  3. kid — child
  4. mug — a cup
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rash — hasty
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. can — a tin
  10. cap — a hat
  11. rash — a series
  12. can — a tin
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cell — in biology
  15. can — to be able to
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mug — to rob
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cap — of ice
  22. mug — a face
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com